Phone: 540.568.3932

E-mail: mcfarlje@jmu.edu

Joe "Spanky" McFarland has occupied the home dugout at Long Field/Mauck Stadium since 1998, and it was his 11th team that finally broke through as the first in JMU history to capture the CAA championship, sending the Diamond Dukes to their seventh Division I NCAA Tournament appearance.

The 2008 season was his 19th year as a collegiate head coach and the 31st year he has been in the coaching profession.  His 11 JMU teams have combined for a record of 343-283-2, and he was named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2002.  He was also the Louisville Slugger Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2006.  In 2008, McFarland added the State Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors and the 2008 College Coach of the Year by the Middle Atlantic Baseball Scouts Association.

The Dukes’ first win in 2005, a 6-5 triumph of Penn State, was McFarland's 400th as a collegiate head coach, while JMU’s 15-9 win at Georgia State in 2007 was his 300th with the Dukes.  McFarland picked up his 500th career coaching win in 2008 with a 7-3 win over Radford in April.  He needs just seven wins in 2009 for his 350th win at JMU.

McFarland’s daily approach to work and the game is the simple application of consistency.  He expects of himself, his coaches and his players, an unbroken investment of effort while keeping the crosshairs steadily trained on a goal.

"The people associated with this program, from the coaches through the players, come to work and practice hard everyday with the consistency similar to that of a blue-collar worker," said McFarland, a former two-sport college athlete. "The most important thing is to remain even-keeled, avoiding the emotional highs and lows.  It's the best way to play baseball.  If you believe in what you are doing every day, and you do it well, it doesn't matter who you’re playing, because you are still playing the way you practice.  The game comes to you.  The same can be said for many everyday tasks.

"We are trying to develop ballplayers that give you what you need to make every day successful, as opposed to players who might give an exceptional effort every so often, a flash in the pan.  We want good, steady growth and development, just like a blue-chip stock.  It only comes through hard work and being good at what you do on a consistent basis.  It's a very basic practice that correlates into wins when playing the game of baseball."

The 2008 season for the Diamond Dukes proved to be a special breakthrough season for the program.  A roster of largely freshmen and sophomores that represented back-to-back top-ranked recruiting classes jumped out to a quick 14-3 start and later 25-8.  The Dukes pushed through the CAA slate to a second-place regular season finish at 20-9.  JMU ended the regular season at 34-17.

As the #2 seed in the CAA Tournament, the Dukes pushed through the bracket undefeated with an opening 6-1 win over #6 Old Dominion followed by consecutive 9-4 and 18-14 wins over #3 George Mason.  Redshirt junior Kurt Houck then pitched a complete game four-hitter in the CAA championship game for JMU's first title.  JMU was sent to the Raleigh Regional of the NCAA tournament.  The Dukes fell to N.C. State 6-2, fought back from a 10-4 deficit to defeat Charlotte 13-12, and then fell to South Carolina 7-5 on a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.

The Dukes were well-rewarded for their season, in addition to McFarland's coaching honors from VaSID and MABSA, JMU had one All-American, three Freshmen All-Americans, three All-Region honorees, four All-CAA performers, a record five CAA All-Rookie picks, five CAA All-Tournament selections (including the MVP), three All-State honorees (including the Rookie of the Year), and two players signing professional contracts.  JMU finished with a final RPI of 60 and ranked in the top 50 in the nation in team batting average, scoring average, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, walks, strikeouts per nine innings, fielding percentage (a school record), and winning percentage.

JMU went 22-31 in 2007, but the season was full of highlights, including McFarland’s 300th victory at JMU and a victory over #3 Virginia, the highest-ranked team the Dukes have ever defeated.  Four players earned all-conference accolades, three collected national freshman honors, and Kellen Kulbacki (2005-07) was named an All-American for the second straight season.  Kulbacki and Eddie Kim (2000-03) are the only players in conference history to earn CAA Player of the Year twice.  

JMU had a strong season in 2006, going 38-21..  The Dukes went 22-8 in the CAA and finished first in the regular season, thanks to a streak of eight wins in their last nine conference games.  The final series of the season against UNC Wilmington ended in back-to-back walk-off home runs to help JMU vault past Old Dominion for the regular season title.  The team produced three professional draft picks as well as the CAA Player of the Year in Kellen Kulbacki, who was named an All-American by six organizations.

McFarland’s 2002 squad set a school record for wins with a final mark of 44-16.  The Dukes ranked 27th on the final NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and advanced to the CAA championship game for the second year in a row that spring.  His 2001 squad played its way into the CAA title game with four consecutive tournament wins following a second-round loss in the double-elimination event.  That team finished 36-23-1 and ranked 49th in the RPI.  The team of 2000 finished 37-22 and was ranked 36th in the RPI.  That year JMU was the highest RPI-ranked team with a winning conference record that did not get a bid to the NCAA regionals.

During McFarland's tenure, the Dukes have had 19 players drafted and 28 have signed professional contracts.  The 2008 season saw slugging first baseman Steven Caseres picked in the ninth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Outfielder Brett Sellers, a Third Team All-American, also signed a free agent deal with the Washington Nationals.

Kellen Kulbacki was selected 40th overall in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft in 2007, the third-highest in program history.  Short stop Davis Stoneburner was picked in the ninth round, joining Kulbacki as the two highest picks in the CAA.  Senior lefthander Jacob Cook signed a free agent deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Also in 2007, former JMU pitcher Travis Risser, who transferred after setting the JMU season saves record, signed with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League.

The 2006 draft featured right-hander Ryan Reid, who was selected in the seventh round by Tampa.  Reid was joined by left-hander Greg Nesbitt, a 29th-round pick by Seattle, and second baseman Michael Cowgill, a 40th-round selection by Minnesota and JMU’s career home run leader.

A school-record seven players turned pro when their careers concluded in 2003 when the draft selections included left-handed pitcher Kurt Isenberg, first baseman Eddie Kim, shortstop Nathan Doyle and catcher Matt Deuchler.  Isenberg was a fourth-round pick by Toronto and Kim went later in the same round to Oakland.  Doyle was a 25th-round choice of Detroit, and Deuchler was called in the 40th round by the Chicago White Sox.  Additional players to sign as free agents included right-hander pitcher Rick McKernan by Baltimore, third baseman Brent Metheny by Seattle and right-handed pitcher Mike Trussell by an independent team in Baton Rouge, La.

In the 2002 draft, left-handed hurler Dan Meyer was tapped by Atlanta in the first supplemental round, the 34th overall pick.  He found himself on the fast track to the big leagues and made his debut late in the 2004 season.  Meyer was traded to Oakland in a deal in which the Braves received Tim Hudson in 2005.  Also in 2002, left-hander Jared Doyle was chosen in the third round by Arizona with the 99th overall pick.

The Dukes other draft choices under McFarland have been fifth-round left-handed pitcher Aaron Sams (Chicago Cubs, ‘98), fifth-round outfielder Mike Butia (Cleveland, ’04), sixth-round right-hander hurler Blair DeHart (San Diego, ’99), sixth-round outfielder Rich Thompson (Toronto, ‘00), 24th-round second baseman T Riley (Texas, ’00), sixth-round left-hander Adam Wynegar (Chicago Cubs, ’01) and 20th-round outfielder Greg Miller (Atlanta, ’01).

McFarland has coached 31 All-CAA picks, 10 CAA All-Rookie selections, two-time CAA Player of the Year and All-Americans Eddie Kim and Kellen Kulbacki, and 13 ABCA All-East honorees.

McFarland was named the head baseball coach in October of 1997, a very unusual time of the year to take the reigns of a Division I baseball program.  He did not have the benefit of evaluating his players during the fall session, and on-the-field time was limited during the few weeks between early January and the opener on February 14.

McFarland coached for seven seasons (1991-97) at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., which reinstated baseball in 1991 after discontinuing the program in 1982.  He previously was an assistant coach at South Florida (1986-90), Georgia Tech (1983-85), Florida State (1982), Appalachian State (1981), and at his alma mater, Hillsdale College (1977).. His first head coaching job was at Kellogg (Mich.) Community College (1979-80) where he led the Bruins to a 33-13 record.

McFarland resurrected the NIU program from the ground up.  He accepted the challenge with no team, field, equipment or scholarships. His first team consisted of all non-scholarship, walk-on players. It took only six years for the Huskies to reach the NCAA tournament, thanks in part to nationally-ranked recruiting classes in 1992, 1993 and 1995. McFarland led Northern Illinois to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament titles and into NCAA play in 1996 and to third-place league finishes in 1995 and 1997. The conference championship was the first by the school in 24 years, and the 1997 squad led the MCC in hitting with a .323 average. His 143 victories with the Huskies make him the winningest coach in NIU baseball history.

McFarland has coached 61 pitchers who signed professional contracts, including 1997 World Series standout Kevin Brown, then of the Florida Marlins and now with the New York Yankees.  Eleven hurlers have gone on to the Major Leagues.  Four of his Northern Illinois players were drafted after 1992, and 15 Huskies were named all-conference over his last five seasons at the school.  Other proteges include Dave Eiland, who was named pitching coach of the New York Yankees under Joe Girardi, and Mark Quimuyog, who serves as East coast scouting supervisor for the Twins.

Before his seven years in Illinois, McFarland helped guide the Appalachian State, Florida State and Georgia Tech programs to more than 400 victories, season records for wins, national rankings and NCAA tournament bids.  In all, he was instrumental in five conference championships, six NCAA tournaments and two #1 national rankings.

McFarland has written pitching books "Developing Pitchers" and "Coaching Pitchers," which included a foreword by Brown.  The third edition of “Coaching Pitchers” was released in 2003.  He was a guest speaker at the U.S. Olympic Committee symposium on "Injuries to the Throwing Arm" in 1983 and has been a featured speaker at five National Baseball Coaches Association National Clinics and four American Baseball Coaches Association conventions.  He has also been an ambassador for the sport, having been associated for several years with the Edinburgh Diamond Devils, a Scottish professional team, and in January of 2005 assisted with a week-long clinic for more than 75 coaches and 700 players in Bratislava, Slovakia.  In December of 2007, McFarland gave a coaching clinic to the Austrian Baseball Federation and worked with some of the Austrian National Team players.

In addition to coaching, McFarland is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, both nationally and locally as part of the Turner Ashby High School Huddle.  He is also a deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg.  In 2008, McFarland traveled to the Dominican Republic for the fifth annual Baseball Outreach trip with SCORE International (Sharing Christ Our Redeemer Enterprises).

McFarland is a native of New Carlisle, Ohio. He is a 1976 graduate of Hillsdale (Mich.) College with a bachelor's of arts degree in physical education and art.  He received a master's in physical education at Appalachian State in 1981.  He played baseball and football at Hillsdale and was in training camp in 1976 with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.  His wife, Deb, is a native of North Palm Beach, Fla. and is a 1982 graduate of Florida State University.  Spanky and Deb have two children, Tara (21) and Tyler (17).

McFarland’s History of Developing Pitchers

*31 Years of College Coaching

*63 Pitchers who have signed pro contracts (2 per year)

*56 of the 63 pitchers were not previously drafted (90 percent)

*11 of 63 made it to the Major Leagues

*11 of 11 major-leaguers were not previously drafted

*Author of "Coaching Pitchers" sold over 40,000 to date

*Author of 16 articles on pitching

*Featured speaker on pitching at nine national conventions

*Featured speaker on pitching 23 times at state conventions - 17 states

*Six pitchers currently in the Major Leagues attended a Spanky McFarland Pitching Camp

*Five former pitchers are now coaches in college or pro ball

*Three former pitchers are professional scouts

*Five national Top 10 team in ERA

*12 NCAA post season appearances

McFarland's 11 Seasons at JMU